Pendulum driving device



April 1958 s. G. BERGMAN 2,830,554

PENDULUM DRIVING DEVICE Filed Aug. 17. 1954 INV ENTOR 6. G -ficr mzz UTORN nited States Pate PENDULUM DRIVING DEVICE Sven G. Bergman, Jonkoping, Sweden Application August 17, 1954, Serial No. 450,502

Claims priority, application Sweden August 19, 1953 14 Claims. (Cl. 116-148) This invention relates to an improved pendulum driving device and has for its object such a device, which allows the pendulum to be driven by means of a heating source, for instance, a composite candle light.

For this purpose the pendulum driving device according to an embodiment of the invention includes a body divided by a wall into two downwardly open buckets parallel to the axis of the wall separating the two buckets from one another, and a heat source below the pendulum, said heat source alternately heating the air in the buckets as the pendulum swings from side to side and in this manner maintaining the oscillation.

In the drawing, which illustrates an embodiment of the invention:

Fig. l is a side View of a pendulum according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the pendulum,

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the pendulum,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged partly sectional front view of a sounding device mounted on the pendulum,

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5--5 in Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is an enlarged partly sectional view of a modified sounding device,

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 77 in Fig. 6, and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged plan view of another arrangement of the sounding device incorporated with the pendulum. V V

The pendulum 1, as shown in the drawing, is a downwardly open boxof such a shape thatthe projection of the pendulum on a plane perpendicular to the axisof the pendulum is bell shaped, as will be seen from Fig. l. The pendulum may be made of cardboard, sheet-metal, plastic or of any other material. A strip 2 of sheet-metal extends through the pendulum and functions as a knifeedge bearing which bears on two supports 4 attached to fit space 6 will be heated. The air in space 6 will become lighter than the air in space 5 so the pendulum will swing in the other direction, etc. In this manner the heat rising from candle 8 maintains the oscillations of the pendulum.

As will be seen from Fig. l, the partition 7 preferably 7 extends a little below the borders 9 of the buckets 5 and 6, which results in a more eflicient use of the heat.

Preferably, the width of the pendulum in the vicinity of the bottom edges 9 of the buckets is greater in a direction perpendicular to the partition 7 than in a direction parallel to the axis of the pendulum.

a foot plate 3 on each side of the pendulum. The supports shown are made of iron or other metal wire and are shown as being shaped as hearts with their downwardly directed points attached to the foot plate and their upper portions functioning as hearing supports for the metal strip 2.

The dotted lines in Fig. 1 show a partition 7 dividing the interior of the pendulum in two spaces or buckets 5 and 6, respectively, said partition being parallel to the metal strip 2 functioning as a pivot for the pendulum. Thus, the said two buckets are open downwardly and closed upwardly. If a heating source, such as a candle 8, is placed below the pendulum between the two supports, the candle will heat the air in one or the other of the two buckets 5 and 6. When one of the spaces such as the space 5 contains warmer air than the other space 6, the air in the bucket 5 will have a greater lift than the air in space 6 so the pendulum'will be swung on its pivot by the bucket 5 rising. The lower edge 10 of partition 7 will pass over the candle 8 so that the open mouth of space 6 now is over the candle (see Fig. 1) so the air in The position of the center of gravity of the pendulum in relation to its axis of oscillation influences the behavior of the pendulum. If the center of gravity is below said axis, the pendulum will steadily oscillate to and fro. If, on the other hand, the center of gravity should be situated a little above said axis of oscillation the pendulum will stop for a little while in each extreme position during the exchange of the air in the two buckets 5 and 6. The position of the center of gravity may be made adjustable by means of a folded strip 10 of sheet metal drawn onto the bottom portion of the partition 7, which strip may be moved upwards or downwards to the desired position.

The pendulum as shown may be used as a decorative element on a Christmas table and may also be used for the purpose of publicity in shop windows, etc. The same principle may also be used in driving oscillating arms or heads of dummies similarly used for the purpose of publicity.

The pendulum as shown, imitating a church bell, may be completed with a sound emitting device, which sounding device may be a bell, as an example, said bell being struck upon oscillation of the pendulum either directly by a striker or, if an electric bell is used it may be oper ated by a switch for intermittently closing of the bells electric circuit.

Figs. 4 and 5 and Figs. 6 and 7, respectively, show two embodiments of such directly struck sounding devices. A bell 11 is attached to one end of the strip 2. Figs. 4 and 5 show that inside the bell 11 a tube 12 passes through and is attached to said strip 2 perpendicular to the plane of the partition 7. The ends of the tube are situated a short distancefrom the edge of the bell 11. A ball 13 is free ,to roll inside the tube. Upon oscillation of the pendulum the ball will roll alternately from one end of the tube to the other and at each end will strike the bell (see Fig. 1).

In the embodiment according to Figs. 6 and 7, the tube 12 and the ball 13 are replaced by a small channel 14 and a disc or washer 15, respectively. To decrease the weight of the disc the hole 16 in the center of the disc may be made larger.

In the embodiment as shown in Fig. 8, the end of the strip 2 carries an arm 19, said arm being parallel to the tube. Each end of the arm carries its own bell 20 and 21, respectively, said two bells being tuned to a different pitch. When the pendulum is oscillating the clapper ball 13 in the guide tube 2 will strike the two bells alternately, whereby the sound from the bells will imitate the dinerent bells of a church.

To prevent the ball or disc, as the case may be, from remaining at the ends of the tube or channel against the bell, the ends of said tube or channel may be bent upwards a little, as shown at 17 and 18, so that the ball or disc will immediately return a slight distance away from the edge of the bell after striking the bell.

Preferably the two buckets 5 and 6 may be of such a shape that at the maximum swing of the pendulum the upper of these buckets stops with only a small portion extending past the vertical plane through the axis of oscillation.

To better imitate a church bell, the pendulum shown in the drawing may be equipped with an imitation of a clapper 22, said clapper being swingably carried in a hearing on the strip 2 at the back of the pendulum so that the clapper does not take part in the oscillations of the pendulum.

The pendulum may be equipped with a device allowing the position of the pendulums center of gravity to be adjusted transversely. Such a device may consist of a weight, which is movable along a guide perpendicular to the partition 7. Figs. 4 and 5 show how such a device may be concealed inside the bell 11. The device consists of a screw 23 which, at one of its ends, is attached to a bracket 24 carried by one end of the tube 2. A nut 25 runs on said screw and to adjust the position of the pendulums center of gravity one has only to screw the nut to a position upon the screw 23 where the center of gravity coincides with the plane of the partition, or to move the center of gravity to one side to give an unequal swing to the pendulum.

I claim:

1. A pendulum device comprising a downwardly open hollow body swingable with a pivot, the hollow of said body being divided into two buckets by a partition parallel to the pivot of the device, a pair of supports including bearing surfaces for said pivot, a source of heat below the device so placed that oscillation of the device on its pivot is caused by alternate filling of the said buckets by the heated gas from said source of heat.

2. The pendulum device of claim 1 in which the said partition extends below the lower edge of the hollow body.

3. The pendulum device of claim 1 including means to adjust the position of the center of gravity of the device with respect to its pivot.

4. The pendulum device of claim 3 in which the means to adjust the position of the center of gravity of the device comprises means mounted on the lower end of said partition which is movable toward and away from said pivot.

5. The pendulum device of claim 3 in which the means to adjust the position of the center of gravity of the device comprises a screw threaded rod arranged at right angles to the plane of said partition and a screw threaded weight mounted on said rod for adjustment thereon.

6. The pendulum device of claim 1 in which the two buckets extend upwardly beyond the pivot of said device.

7. The pendulum device of claim 6 in which the said 4 buckets are of greater dimension at right angles to said partition than parallel to said partition.

8. The pendulum device of claim 1 in which at least one sounding device and a striking means guided to strike said sounding device is mounted on said device on the pivot of said pendulum to oscillate therewith.

9. The pendulum device of claim 8 in which a guide is secured perpendicularly to said pivot so as to tip alternately from side to side as the device oscillates on its pivot and said striking means is gravity actuated in said guide to move from end to end of said guide upon oscillation of said device, the movement of said striking means being limited by striking said sounding device.

10. A pendulum device as in claim 9, in which said sounding device is attached to the device in a position sarrounding the guide, the two ends of the guide being situated near the edge of the sounding device.

11. The pendulum device of claim 9 in which two sounding devices are mounted on the device, one at each end of said guide so as to be alternately struck by said striking means.

12. The pendulum device of claim 9 in which said striking means is a rolling body and said guide is shaped as a channel to receive said rolling body.

13. The pendulum device of claim 9 in which the ends of the guide turn up slightly so that while the striking means will be stopped by striking the sounding device it will come to rest clear of the sounding device so as to make the sounding device ring.

14. The pendulum device of claim 1 in which a guide is secured perpendicular to said partition and at approximately the same level as said pivot, a rolling element in said guide, stop means at each end of said guide, the weight of said rolling element being such as to hold said device in tilted position toward the end of the guide at which said rolling element is at rest, said guide and rolling element being so constructed and arranged that the heat from said source of heat filling the bucket on the side of the device on which the rolling element has come to rest will tilt the device in the opposite direction to cause movement of said rolling element to the opposite end of said guide.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 974,991 Radigan Nov. 8, 1910 1,204,923 Wood Nov. 14, 1916 1,952,733 Smith Mar. 27, 1934 2,195,311 Hurst Mar. 26, 1940 

